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Their camping trip had been going well so far. Maddie had her doubts at first. Two of her kids spent most of their lives as in-voluntary campers. She hadn’t been sure they wouldn’t take to it as a recreational activity. Apparently she didn’t need to worry, because, honestly? Knuckles was like a pig in mud out here. He'd actually seemed disappointed they had tents and wouldn’t be sleeping in self-dug burrows. And while Sonic had obviously been very bored on their hike, campfire chilli dogs (more magical than regular chilli dogs!) and s’mores were right up his alley.
That said, Knuckles was less than impressed with scary stories around the campfire. “You mean they aren’t true ? How can they be scary if they aren’t true?”
“Ugh,” Sonic rolled his eyes as he flicked off the flashlight he’d been holding under his chin during his rendition of the man with the hook hand. “You’re no fun.”
“Scary things are not fun.”
“Agree to disagree, big guy.”
“Maybe you can tell the next one?” Tails piped up. “Sonic’s been telling all the famous scary stories from here, but are there any scary echidna stories?”
Knuckles frowned. “There are… but they are not made up.”
Sonic rolled his eyes again. “Bet they’re not even that scary.”
“They are! I have one… it is truly horrific.” Knuckles glared.
Sonic zipped over, handed Knuckles the flashlight, then zipped back to sit between her and Tom. “Prove it, tough guy!”
Knuckles glowered, but was always up for a challenge. He stood up on the bench and carefully switched on the flashlight, holding it under his chin like Sonic had. Maddie probably should have told him this wasn’t required for scary story telling, but it was kind of adorable and she didn’t want to interrupt.
Knuckles cleared his voice and took a moment to gather his thoughts before he took a deep breath and began. “There once was a… very scary witch.”
Sonic burst into giggles. “Oh, I can tell this is gonna be an excellent scary story already!”
Knuckles scowled at him, but pressed on: “He called himself a doctor… But I very much doubt he has received a doctorate and he was not a healer by the standards of our people.”
“Impersonating a doctor? Nothing could be more frightening,” Sonic chimed in.
Tom nudged him. “Hey, be nice and listen.”
“My people had an innate connection with chaos energy,” Knuckles boasted. “And we could use it to manipulate the chaos energy in plants. But a single mistake can cause death or worse, thus only the high priestesses were allowed to manipulate chaos energy in an animal or person. The witch broke this rule when he…” Knuckles paused and something pinged Maddie’s Mom-Radar. “He broke the rule.
He… was obsessed with this one echidna legend… Which could be a scary story all on its own. His ambition was to revive an ancient echidna demigod who dwells, scattered in the Chaos Force. He thought one with power such as mine could be used as a vessel for this god. He manipulated my great-uncle–”
“Great-uncle?” Sonic sat up. “Wait, is this like… one of those ‘it happened to my uncle’ almost true stories?”
“This is a completely true story,” Knuckles scowled. “It happened to my great-uncle and to my great-aunt and to me! For I am in this story as well.”
“Well, that makes you questioning this guy’s doctorate status hilarious actually.”
“This story is not hilarious,” Knuckles said very seriously. “It is a sobering reminder of what happens when you manipulate chaos energies in living beings and meddle in forces you do not fully comprehend!”
“Okay, let’s settle!” Maddie cut in. “Sonic: no more interruptions. Knuckles: go ahead, honey.” This story was already making her feel uneasy, but Knuckles wasn’t exactly a ‘sharer’ and she wanted to hear what he had to say.
Knuckles’ scowl deepened and she thought for a minute that he might refuse to continue. Apparently the urge to prove to Sonic that his story really was scary was too great.
“He manipulated my great-uncle into helping him. I was only just at walking age and it was easy for my great-uncle to lure me from my parents and bring me to the witch-doctor.” The Mom-Radar was pinging again. “Of course, I was too young to serve as a vessel for a god. My tribe believed their plan was to infuse my great-uncle with my power so he might be the vessel.”
“Why couldn’t this fake doctor use himself? Oops!” Sonic clapped a hand over his mouth and looked apologetically up at Maddie.
Knuckles’ scowl deepened and it took a moment for him to continue: “He… did try previously. Using me.” There it was. Red flag located. “He attempted to siphon power from me–”
“Holy crap?! Did it… hurt?” Sonic asked. Maddie touched his shoulder, either to quiet his interruptions or calm his concern, she wasn’t sure which.
Knuckles glared at him before he spoke at length. “It was agony. Now shut up.” He continued, oblivious or uncaring to how this admission affected the rest of them.
“Chaos energy does strange things in those who are not meant to have it. He gained a sort of chaos power but… it was wrong. Certainly not something he could draw a god from. It also left him physically and mentally altered. Also he was banished. Which is why he needed my great-uncle, Dimitri, to sneak me out of the village for his second attempt.”
This story was already horrifying, but not for the reasons Knuckles seemed to think.
“Of course, it all went wrong,” Knuckles continued, his gaze falling on the campfire. “The chaos energy put in my great-uncle recoiled. His body was destroyed until the only thing left was his head. Unfortunately, it had been so infused with chaos energy that he survived his dismemberment .”
Tails pressed against her.
“My people were already searching for me,” Knuckles carried on. “They heard Dimitri’s screams and followed them. The witch fled before they arrived, and when they did, they were so repulsed by what had become of my great-uncle, they immediately sought to end his suffering by driving an ax through his skull.” She put her arm around Tails.
“Unfortunately the head healed from this wound. At this point, I was taken away. I did not witness the rest of it, but I’m told they attempted numerous methods to end his life. Even to the hardened warriors it was so horrific that eventually the chief and high priestess sent them away. They built a fire and threw his head in the flames.”
Their campfire flickered ominously.
“When nothing was left but ash, they dug a hole to bury the remains. But as the high priestess began to give final rights they realized the ashes were knitting themselves back together.”
Sonic leaned against her just as Tails pressed even closer.
“Unable to think of anything else, they waited until his head had reformed enough to speak and asked what he wanted them to do. He first asked for me, thinking a little more of my power might restore him.” Maddie’s breath caught. “They refused.” She breathed again. “He next asked for his family. He asked for their care.”
Something in his voice changed, lightened, as he explained: “Sometimes in my tribe, a warrior would be injured, or a child might be born in such a way that they couldn’t quite care for themselves. In these cases their family would care for them, with the rest of the tribe supporting. This is what he asked for.
“The chief returned to the village and asked my great-aunt and grandmother if they would take up his care. My grandmother refused. My parents would not have him anywhere near me and she agreed. If he were in her home, then I would not be allowed there and this was unacceptable to her. The task fell to my great-aunt and her family.
“The chief took her out to where the high priestess guarded Dimitri's head. My great-aunt wrapped him in a blanket and carried him home. But when they reached the center of the village she collapsed to the ground. Dimitri had siphoned the chaos energy from her, killing her.”
Maddie gasped, and she wasn’t the only one.
“He asked for me again. He was certain my energy would be enough to restore him. One of her children tried to pull my great-aunt’s body away and nearly collapsed doing so. It took many attempts to retrieve her. No one could get close to him without becoming weak. He was drawing in chaos energy like a leech. Still he cried out for me.”
Maddie didn’t know when she and Tom had started holding hands until she started squeezing his.
“The chief used a long branch to push Dimitri’s head into a dry well. But the echo only made his screams stronger. When the grass and shrubs around the old well began to shrivel up, the high priestess declared that it was not safe for us to remain anywhere near him. The tribe packed up and the village emptied by midday.”
Knuckles shrugged as though the rest of the story was natural, casual. Routine. “The warriors barred the entrances. The priestesses placed seals on the barricades. My father helped inscribe warnings on the walls, since he spoke the most languages.” A touch of pride entered his voice at that. “All the while, Dimitri screamed for them.
“We moved to the far side of the island.” Knuckles looked up. “It was a terrible thing for my people, but they told the story of the Wailing Head Village to the tribe’s children so we would know why it was important not to meddle with the living chaos force… and also that if we should find a barricaded village on our travels, that we should stay far away, even if we hear a cry for help from within.”
He turned the flashlight off and jumped down from the bench. “The end.”
Maddie suppressed a shiver. There was a long, long silence, finally broken by Sonic:
“Okay. You win. That was horrifying.”
“It wasn’t really true though, right? It’s just a made-up scary story, right?” Tails was practically in Maddie’s lap; he was squeezed so close.
“I told you it was true,” Knuckles said, somewhat affronted.
“But you don’t really remember it, yourself right?” Sonic asked. “Maybe your family made it up? Or-or-or!” He backtracked quickly at Knuckles’ outraged expression. “OR! They massaged the truth? I mean it is a good story to convince you not to mess with chaos energy. Something they probably would’ve had an interest in… what with having a superpowered toddler and all?”
Knuckles shook his head. “No. I do not remember much, but I remember the tribe moving. The chaos of it all. And my parents would not let me leave their sides, which was unusual because I had always been allowed to wander in the village. And I remember…” He tapped his head. “It is permanently carved here… I remember my great-uncle’s face when he realized his body was gone. How he screamed at me.”
Tails shuddered and Knuckles noticed. “Fear not, Tails.”
Tails perked up, obviously hopeful that Knuckles would debunk his story.
“Dimitri is only a head. Even if he is still alive, he cannot climb out of the well.”
“Oh,” Tails deflated. “Okay. That’s… not that reassuring.”
“This means that he cannot drain your chaos energy.”
“Okay…”
“He is not under your bed or in your closet.”
“O- kay !” Maddie cut in. “That was a great–” super fucked up “--scary story, Knuckles! Maybe Tom can find his guitar and we can do some campfire songs!” She looked to her husband in a mild panic.
“I like that idea!” Tom jumped up. “Lemme get it from the truck…” He started off, leaving the comforting ring of light around their campfire.
“Y’know, Knux!” Sonic said in his ‘I’m trying to lighten the mood’ voice: “I’m with you. I don’t think that witch guy had a valid medical license.”
“No,” Knuckles said. “I doubt that he does.”
The present tense scared her more than anything else.